Surprise Valley Drugs

Yes, it’s the side of a building. But it’s also an old billboard for a drugstore that probably doesn’t even exist anymore. And there’s something about it that I really like.

I took this photo at the end of the second day of my trip. I was spending the night at Cedarville, CA, in a little motel on the edge of town. Cedarville was a quaint, undiscovered farming community. I’d passed at least a dozen huge California barns, hay fields, and horse pastures on the last half hour of my drive. I was exhausted and this quiet little town was like an oasis in the desert.

This billboard had been painted on the side of a row of shops. I don’t know how long ago it had been painted or whether the Surprise Valley Drug store was in Cedarville. But I snapped the photo to remember.

The next morning, after stopping back in town for a some car noshing supplies, I’d seen a similarly interesting shot across the street. But there were people out and about and I felt silly about taking the photo. Someday I’ll go back and snap it.

And to readers of my Maria’s Guides eBooks, if this looks familiar, it should. I used it for the cover of one of my eBooks.

The full-frame version of this photo is available for sale as cards and prints at RedBubble.com

My father was the owner and pharmacist of the Surprise Valley Drug Store in the late 1960’s. My family lived on the right side of the building and the pharmacy and general store was on the left side. The original plaster began to crumble on the front of the store so my dad had it removed to return the building to it’s original state. The Coke sign had faded so badly that you could barely see any of the images. My father hired an artist to re-paint the sign in 1972. You can imagine my delight when I googled Surprise Valley Drug and found this image! I have many fond childhood memories sitting in front of that sign and eating ice cream with my dog during the summer months.

Subscribe via Email

Get new posts by email. Spam-free; unsubscribe anytime.

Email Address

Join the Conversation!

We teach and learn by sharing what we know with others. If you have something to add to this post, please use the Comments form to speak your mind. Get a conversation going -- you never know what you'll learn. But before you do, be sure to read this site's Comment Policy.